Using Cisco Unified Service Monitor

Getting Started with Service Monitor

Cisco Unified Service Monitor (Service Monitor), a member of the Cisco Unified Communications Management Suite, analyzes data that it receives from Cisco 1040 Sensors (Cisco 1040s) installed in your voice network. Each licensed instance of Service Monitor acts as a primary Service Monitor for multiple Cisco 1040s. A Service Monitor can also be configured to act as a secondary and tertiary Service Monitor for Cisco 1040s that are managed by other licensed instances of Service Monitor. When a Service Monitor becomes unavailable, Cisco 1040s fail over to secondary or tertiary Service Monitors temporarily until the primary Service Monitor becomes available again.

Service Monitor examines the data it receives from Cisco 1040s, comparing Mean Opinion Scores (MOS)—computed by Cisco 1040s for each RTP stream—against a user-specified threshold value. When MOS drops below the threshold, Service Monitor generates SNMP traps and sends them to up to four trap receivers. Optionally, Service Monitor stores the call metrics it receives from Cisco 1040s to disk files.

To further analyze, display, and act on Service Monitor data, you can use Cisco Unified Operation Manager (Operations Manager), by configuring it as a trap receiver for Service Monitor. Operations Manager can generate events for Service Monitor traps, display the events on the Service Quality Alerts dashboard, and store event history for up to 31 days. For more information, see User Guide for Cisco Unified Operations Manager.

•Disable—As a Cisco 1040 joins the network, it registers with a Service Monitor only when you have created a configuration file specifically for that Cisco 1040. See Adding a Cisco 1040 (Manual Registration).

Default value is Disable.

Note If the number of Cisco 1040s registered to Service Monitor equals the number allowed by the license, Service Monitor does not allow additional Cisco 1040s to register. See Licensing Overview.

Note Call metrics are archived to the directory specified when you installed Service Monitor.

Image File Directory field

Directory on the Service Monitor server where binary image files and configuration files for the Cisco 1040 are stored. Grayed out because you cannot edit it.

Note This directory was specified during the installation of Service Monitor.

MOS Threshold field

Enter the value below which you want Service Monitor to send an SNMP trap. Default value is 3.5. Minimum value is 1.0; maximum value is 5.0.

Starting Cisco 1040 Sensor ID list and field

Accept the default initial letter in the list and enter a 3-digit number in the field. A Cisco 1040 Sensor ID consists of a letter and a 3-digit number, for example: A100.

Service Monitor assigns this ID to the first Cisco 1040 to register with it and increments from this ID to assign Cisco 1040 Sensor IDs subsequently.

TFTP Server and Port fields

Enter an IP address—or a DNS name—and a port number.

Trap Forwarding Parameters

SNMP Community String

Enter the SNMP community string for the trap receivers. Default is public.

Trap Receiver n and Port fields (where n is a number from 1 to 4)

Enter up to 4 trap receivers:

•Trap Receiver n—Enter the IP address or DNS name of a server. To use Operations Manager to act on and display data from Service Monitor—for example to use the Service Quality Alerts dashboard—specify the system with Operations Manager as a trap receiver.

•Port—Enter the port number on which the receiver listens for SNMP traps. The default is 162; however, a different port might be used for this purpose on this server.

Service Monitor generates SNMP traps and forwards them to these receivers.

Step 3 Click OK.

Copying Image and Configuration Files to the TFTP Server

When you install Service Monitor, you supply the name of the image file directory that Service Monitor uses to store files for Cisco 1040s. Service Monitor installation creates the directory and stores the binary image and default configuration files for Cisco 1040s in it.

To enable you to enforce security procedures that you might have in place at your site, Service Monitor does not copy files to your TFTP server. You must manually copy binary image and configuration files for Cisco 1040s to the TFTP server as follows:

Note•If you have configured multiple instances of Service Monitor to use the same TFTP server, and automatic registration is enabled, all Cisco 1040s register to the same primary Service Monitor. Update the configuration file for each Cisco 1040 that should register to another Service Monitor; see Editing the Configuration for a Specific Cisco 1040.

•Assigned—IP address or hostame of the primary Service Monitor defined for the Cisco 1040.

•Active—IP address or hostame of the Service Monitor to which the Cisco 1040 is currently sending data. (Different from the assigned Service Monitor only when the Cisco 1040 has failed over to a secondary or tertiary Service Monitor.)

Click the (View) link to view details of the Cisco 1040 configuration.

Note The Cisco 1040 Sensor Details page displays only those Cisco 1040s that are registered to the Service Monitor up to the number specified by the license, with 50 Cisco 1040s as the uppermost limit. For more information, see Licensing Overview.

Note If there is a more recent image file available on the TFTP server, you must edit the configuration file for the Cisco 1040, specifying the filename for the more recent image, you must copy the updated configuration file to the TFTP server, and you must reset the Cisco 1040. (See Editing the Configuration for a Specific Cisco 1040.)

Registering Cisco 1040s to Service Monitors

After it is connected to a switch, a Cisco 1040 uses DHCP to obtain the IP address of the TFTP server. The Cisco 1040 checks the TFTP server for a configuration file, using the first of the following files that it finds:

•QOVmacaddress.CNF—Where MAC address is the MAC address of the Cisco 1040.

Note Service Monitor continues to allow Cisco 1040s to register until the number of registered Cisco 1040s reaches the number specified by the license. For more information, see Licensing Overview.

Understanding Automatic Registration and Configuration Files

When automatic registration is enabled, a newly connected Cisco 1040 registers to a Service Monitor using the default configuration file, QOVDefault.CNF. After a Cisco 1040 registers to a Service Monitor, a configuration file QOV<MAC address>.CNF is created in the image file directory. You must copy this configuration file to the TFTP server. See Copying Image and Configuration Files to the TFTP Server. Thereafter, every time that you reset the Cisco 1040, it uses QOV<MAC address>.CNF to register to a Service Monitor.

There can be only one default configuration file on the TFTP server. The default configuration file specifies the primary Service Monitor. Therefore, each Cisco 1040 that uses the same TFTP server registers to the same Service Monitor.

Note When multiple Service Monitors share the same TFTP server, after automatic registration completes, you must edit the configuration file for any Cisco 1040 that you want to register to primary, secondary, and tertiary Service Monitors different from those listed in the default configuration file. See Editing the Configuration for a Specific Cisco 1040.

Configuring Service Monitors and Cisco 1040s when Multiple TFTP Servers Are in Use

If you have multiple licensed instances of Service Monitor, you can configure them to use one TFTP server or multiple TFTP servers. When you use multiple TFTP servers, ensure that each TFTP server holds a current copy of the configuration file for each Cisco 1040. All QOV<macaddress>.CNF files on each TFTP server should be fully replicated to the other TFTP servers using any file replication mechanism.

Following this recommendation ensures that, when a Cisco 1040 fails over to a Service Monitor using a different TFTP server, the Cisco 1040 locates and loads the specific configuration file that was created for it. Access to the correct configuration file from any TFTP server enables the Cisco 1040 to retain its ID while registering with a failover Service Monitor that uses a different TFTP server.

Adding a Cisco 1040 (Manual Registration)

Note If automatic registration is enabled, you can still add a Cisco 1040 to Service Monitor manually before you connect the Cisco 1040 if you want to do so.

Step 1 From the Service Monitor home page, select Cisco 1040 Sensor Management.

Step 2 Click Add. The Add a Cisco 1040 Sensor dialog box appears.

Note The number of Cisco 1040s that you can add to Service Monitor depends on the limit specified by your license. If you already have reached the limit, an error message is displayed and you cannot proceed. You might be able to upgrade your license to support additional Cisco 1040s. For more information, see Licensing Overview.

Step 3 Enter data listed in the following table.

GUI Element

Description/Action

Cisco 1040 Sensor ID

Accept the default initial letter and enter a 3-digit number. A Cisco 1040 Sensor ID consists of a letter and a 3-digit number, for example: A100.

Note If you enter an existing Cisco 1040 Sensor ID, Service Monitor displays an error message; in this case, you should enter a different 3-digit number.

Enter an IP address or DNS name of a host where Service Monitor is installed. The Cisco 1040 sends data to this Service Monitor unless it becomes unreachable.

Secondary Service Monitor

(Optional.) Enter an IP address or DNS name of a host where another instance of Service Monitor is installed. The Cisco 1040 sends data to this Service Monitor only if the primary Service Monitor becomes unreachable.

Tertiary Service Monitor

(Optional.) Enter an IP address or DNS name of a host where another instance of Service Monitor is installed. The Cisco 1040 sends data to this Service Monitor only if the primary and secondary Service Monitors become unreachable.

Description

Enter up to 80 characters.

Step 4 Click OK. The configuration file is saved on the server where Service Monitor is installed. The configuration file is named QOV<MAC address>.CNF, where <MAC address> is the MAC address for the Cisco 1040. (To view the MAC address, see Using the Cisco 1040 Web Interface.)

Step 5 Copy the configuration file from the image file directory on the server where Service Monitor is installed to the TFTP server. When you plug the Cisco 1040 in and when you reset it, it will load this configuration file.

Enter an IP address or DNS name of a host where Service Monitor is installed. The Cisco 1040 sends data to this Service Monitor unless it becomes unreachable.

Secondary Service Monitor

(Optional.) Enter an IP address or DNS name of a host where Service Monitor is installed. The Cisco 1040 sends data to this Service Monitor only if the primary Service Monitor becomes unreachable.

Tertiary Service Monitor

(Optional.) Enter an IP address or DNS name of a host where Service Monitor is installed. The Cisco 1040 sends data to this Service Monitor only if the primary and secondary Service Monitors become unreachable.

Description

Enter up to 80 characters.

Step 4 Click OK.

Step 5 Copy the configuration file from the image file directory on the server where Service Monitor is installed to the TFTP server. When you plug the Cisco 1040 in and when you reset it, it will load this configuration file.

Editing the Default Configuration (Automatic Registration)

If you edit the default configuration file, Cisco 1040s can use the information that you specify to automatically register with a Service Monitor. Edit the default configuration file to specify the primary, secondary, and tertiary Service Monitors and the image filename for Cisco 1040s. After you edit the file, you must copy it to the TFTP server specified for the Service Monitor.

Note Do not edit the default configuration file using a text editor. Edit the default configuration file using this procedure only.

Understanding Cisco 1040 Failover to a Secondary or Tertiary Service Monitor

This topic explains how a Cisco 1040 determines that a primary Service Monitor is unreachable and how the Cisco 1040 fails over to a secondary or tertiary Service Monitor.

A Cisco 1040 sends keepalive messages to the Service Monitor to which it is registered and receives acknowledgements from the Service Monitor. After sending three keepalives without receiving any acknowledgement, a Cisco 1040 starts a failover process to a secondary—or tertiary—Service Monitor:

1. The Cisco 1040 sends a keepalive to the secondary Service Monitor that is listed in its configuration file and, upon acknowledgement, registers with that Service Monitor.

2. The secondary Service Monitor obtains the latest configuration file for this Cisco 1040 from the TFTP server, registering the Cisco 1040 as a failover Cisco 1040.

3. The Cisco 1040 starts sending syslog messages to the secondary Service Monitor while continuing to send keepalives to the primary Service Monitor to determine whether it is back up. The secondary Service Monitor processes the syslog messages from the failed over Cisco 1040.

4. When the primary Service Monitor is back up, the Cisco 1040 unregisters from the secondary Service Monitor and registers to the primary Service Monitor again.

Resetting a Cisco 1040

Use this procedure to boot a Cisco 1040. After a Cisco 1040 boots, it first uses DHCP to obtain the IP address of the TFTP server. From the TFTP server, Cisco 1040 obtains a configuration file. If the configuration file specifies a binary image file that is different from the currently installed image, Cisco 1040 also obtains the binary image file from the TFTP server.

Moving a Cisco 1040

Step 1 (Optional.) Perform this step if you want to configure the Cisco 1040 to point to a new primary Service Monitor. Edit the configuration file for the Cisco 1040 and copy it to the TFTP server. (See Editing the Configuration for a Specific Cisco 1040.)

Step 2 Unplug Cisco 1040.

Step 3 Plug Cisco 1040 in at new location. The Cisco 1040 downloads its configuration file from the TFTP server.

Note The Cisco 1040 retains its ID after the move.

Deleting a Cisco 1040

Step 1 Delete the configuration file for the Cisco 1040 (QOVmacaddress.CNF) from the TFTP server.

Viewing the Configuration File on the TFTP Server

Step 1 From your browser, enter http://<IP address or DNS name>/Communication where IP address is the address of your Cisco 1040 and DNS name is the DNS name for the Cisco 1040. For example:

http://Cisco-1040-sj/Communication

Step 2 The Communication Log File window displays the following information from the configuration file on the TFTP server for this Cisco 1040:

•Receiver—IP address or DNS name of each Service Monitor—primary, secondary, and tertiary—defined in the configuration file, separated by semicolons.

•ID—ID of the Cisco 1040 that uses this configuration file.

•Image—Name of the binary image file that the Cisco 1040 should download and run from the TFTP server.

•Last Updated—The last time that this configuration file was updated on the Service Monitor system.

Archiving Cisco 1040 Call Metrics

To enable or disable call metrics archiving, see Setting Up Service Monitor. By default, Service Monitor does not save the data it receives from Cisco 1040s. However, if you have enabled call metrics archiving, Service Monitor saves the data in a directory on the server. The directory is specified during Service Monitor installation.

Service Monitor creates a new data file in this directory daily at midnight. The data filename is QoV_YYYYMMDD.csv where YYYY is the 4-digit year, MM is the two-digit month and DD is the two-digit day. For example, QOV_20061101.csv is a data file for November 1, 2006. Service Monitor also backs up data files that exceed a size limit and deletes older data files; for more information, see Managing Service Monitor Data.

You can use the data for further analysis or you can turn archiving off. (Service Monitor does not send the archived data to other applications.) Table 1-1 lists the format for call metrics data files.

Table 1-1 Service Monitor Archived Call Metrics Data Format

Description

Value

Cisco 1040 Sensor ID

A Cisco 1040 Sensor ID consists of a letter and a 3-digit number, for example: A100

Time stamp

Date and time

Flag indicating actual or sampled data

0: Actual

1: Sampled

Source device IP address

IPv4 address, for example:

172.020.119.043

Destination device IP address

IPv4 address, for example:

172.020.119.025

Codec of call data record

2: G711Alaw 64k

6: G722 64k

9: G7231

10: G728

11: G729

Calculated MOS score

2-digit number with an implied decimal point between the first and second digit

Primary cause of call degradation

J: Jitter

P: Packet Loss

Actual packet loss in the previous minute

<numeric value>

Actual jitter, in milliseconds, in the previous minute

<numeric value>

Note Call metrics data files remain on disk for 30 days. Service Monitor deletes them thereafter. If you would like to save these files, you must back them up using whatever method your normally use to back up your disk. For more information, see Managing Service Monitor Data.

Generating a Cisco 1040 Unreachable Trap

When a Service Monitor stops receiving keepalives from a Cisco 1040 that is registered to it, the Service Monitor generates a Cisco 1040 Unreachable SNMP trap. The Service Monitor sends this trap to up to four recipients. For more information, see Setting Up Service Monitor and MIBs Used and SNMP Traps Generated.

Note If you configure Operations Manager to receive traps from Service Monitor, the Cisco 1040 Unreachable trap is displayed on the Alerts and Events monitoring dashboard under the unidentified trap device type.